Electrolux deploys LMS Virtual.Lab Acoustics to accelerate the development of household appliances; Acoustic simulation allows appliance manufacturer to design in quietness up front in the development process

Leuven, Belgium – December 19, 2007 – LMS, the engineering innovation company, today announced that Electrolux adopted LMS Virtual.Lab Acoustics to simulate and optimize the vibro-acoustic performance of home appliance products and to reduce the dependence on time-consuming prototype testing. The acoustic simulation software is deployed in the Core Technology Innovation Division of Electrolux, based in Porcia (Italy), which is responsible for developing innovative concepts and for supporting the primary development teams with expert services in key engineering domains such as acoustic optimization.

Electrolux is a global leader in home appliances and appliances for professional use, selling more than 40 million products to customers in 150 countries every year. The company focuses on innovations and thoughtful designs, based on extensive consumer insight, to meet the real needs of consumers and professionals. To accomplish this business goal, Electrolux is currently transforming its development process from time-consuming, test-based methods to a process that strongly builds on virtual simulation capabilities. Being a long-time user of LMS SYSNOISE, the Electrolux acoustics research team recently deployed LMS Virtual.Lab Acoustics to further accelerate their analysis of structure borne noise and to eliminate noise issues as early as possible in the development cycle.

The Electrolux engineers use LMS Virtual.Lab Acoustics to analyze the acoustic behavior of products like refrigerators, dishwashers, washing machines and cookers. According to Marco Clara, Technical Leader of the Acoustics and Simulation Group at Electrolux, acoustic simulation allows them, for example, to assess the noise produced by a washing machine cabinet, to trace the root cause of noise issues and to change the cabinet design to eliminate them. They also simulate the radiated noise of components like motors and pumps, which are mostly supplied by external companies. In this case, they apply acoustic simulation to optimize the mounts and the housing to reduce the emitted noise.

“Comparisons of test data with simulation results have proven the accuracy and reliability of the LMS Virtual.Lab Acoustics solution for a multitude of applications,“ commented Marco Clara. “It will therefore allow us to effectively replace extensive testing campaigns with simulation runs and to efficiently deliver the required acoustic profile. This will save a lot of time and resources, and will create room to explore innovative solutions, try new materials and find ways to reduce weight and material costs.”

The Electrolux research team valued the coverage of the complete simulation process in a single user environment and the tight integration of the reliable SYSNOISE acoustics solver into LMS Virtual.Lab Acoustics. “With LMS Virtual.Lab Acoustics, it is really straightforward to import design models from CATIA V5 and to run through thedifferent steps of the acoustic simulation process, from model creation to results assessment. The integration of all these steps in a single user environment makes thesoftware easy to use and frees up valuable time in our research group to analyze simulation results and to optimize designs,” concluded Marco Clara.

LMS is an engineering innovation partner for companies in the automotive, aerospace and other advanced manufacturing industries. LMS enables its customers to get better products faster to market, and to turn superior process efficiency to their strategic competitive advantage. LMS delivers a unique combination of virtual simulation software, testing systems, and engineering services. We are focused on the mission critical performance attributes in key manufacturing industries, including structural integrity, handling, safety, reliability, comfort and sound quality. Through our technology, people and over 25 years of experience, LMS has become the partner of choice for most of the leading discrete manufacturing companies worldwide. LMS, a Dassault Systèmes Gold Partner, is certified to ISO9001:2000 quality standards and operates through a network of subsidiaries and representatives in key locations around the world. For more information on LMS, visit the company’s web site at
www.lmsintl.com.